Day 86 Tuesday 10/8/10 A day of journaling “By Ryan” – Press here for map link
We watched some TV in the morning as a treat because we haven’t got to do that much on our holiday. For most of the day we stuck pictures from books and brochures into our journals to make them look better. Coral Bay is a really little tourist town with no houses but two caravan parks, a hotel and other accommodation, and a really little shopping centre, and that is it. It is a very quiet place with not much else to do but relax, go fishing or snorkelling or swimming. At 3:30 we went down to a beach where you can feed some fish. They were big silver salmon that were hungry and would swim around our legs looking for food. Then we went to a pub for happy hour and had a few snacks before going back to the camper and to bed.
Mikayla feeding the fish
On Wednesday we got all ready to go on the Coral Breeze catamaran cruise that we had booked to do. When we went to check in to get our wet suits the people told us that the cruise had been cancelled because the wind was very strong and the water was very choppy and wavey. We drove around Coral Bay and looked at the boat ramp, and the air strip, and the water desalination plant. We went back to our camper and stuck more pictures into our journals and had lunch. After lunch Amy and I went in the pool and the water was very warm. The water in Coral Bay comes from an underground bore so when you turn on the tap it comes our hot! We did more in our journals and also more swimming in the pool in the afternoon. We all had showers and had tea and went to bed.
Just for laughs
On Thursday we got up and had some breakfast. We got ready for going on a boat cruise. We packed some towels and snorkel gear. We drove in a bus to the boat spot then we had to go in a little boat to get onto the Coral Breeze catamaran because it was out in the water further. It was still windy. First we went on a net in the water at the back of the boat and had a ride while it was sailing along. It was called boom netting. At the first snorkelling spot where the boat took us we all put our snorkels on and went in the water. We saw a lot of coral and fish. When we came out of the water there was a sausage sizzle for lunch on the boat. It was nice. We went to the next snorkelling spot and Mikayla and I waited in the boat and just fed some fish over the edge. Daddy, Mummy, and Ryan did more snorkelling. It rained for a bit and it took a long time to get back to the boat ramp. When we got back we went in the bus back to the caravan park and had another swim in the pool. We had tea and played a game that Mikayla made up. It was fun and I won. After that I had to go to bed.
Ready for our Coral Breeze Cat cruise
Boom netting behind the boat
Not the best weather
A couple clown fish !
We packed and left the bright, sunny (nice) weather of Coral Bay to start our trip towards home. This is the second time that we have been here when it has rained (and the locals say it never rains in Coral Bay!) – who knows? First stop was Carnarvon to restock ready for more bush camping. After another long drive we arrived at the remote Kennedy Ranges National Park and found a camp site. A quick setup and then dinner followed by a chat around the campfire with other travellers made for a long day. We have been told it is worthwhile getting up early to view the sunrise, will see how we go in the cold morning.
I got up at sunrise to take a photo of the stunning orange glow on the Kennedy Ranges. After pancakes for breakfast we all went for a walk up to the summit of the range. The kids are doing really well with all of the walks up and over rocks and mountains that we have done on our trip and they were keen to get a certificate from the camp hosts for this particular achievement. The view from the top was spectacular and the kids took delight in yelling to the campground way below (to prove to the hosts that they made it to the top so they could get their certificates!). Before we left the camp ground I did a quick walk into the Temple Gorge to see more of the amazing rock formations, and then we all did a walk to the Honeycomb Gorge to see the amazing honeycomb pattern in the rock. From there it was back in the car for another 270km on dirt roads to get to Mt Augustus. I had no idea that Mt Augustus existed, or that it is the biggest rock in the world (even bigger than Uluru)! This whole area is so remote! The sand plains are speckled with saltbush, mulga bush, spinifex, a lot of dead wood, and plenty of rocks and pebbles. The numerous shredded tyres along the route were evidence to the roughness of the country, and we got to see a lot of wedge tail eagles feasting on road kill (dead kangaroos). We enjoyed a campfire in the bush where we camped off road that night.
Our sunrise view
More fun doing yet another bushwalk
The Honeycomb Gorge wall
I got up and started the camp fire again so we could eat breakfast around it. After we packed up the camper trailer I got to drive the car through the bush and back onto the main dirt road. We drove for a few hours until we got to the town of Meekatharra. We went to the lookout to see a mine and learnt about some of the history of this old mining town. Then we continued driving for hours and only passed through a few more tiny towns along the way. Along the way we saw five massive wedge tail eagles together eating a dead kangaroo. We set up to camp that night in a spot off of a dirt road in the bush. We ate a beef stew with rice for tea that Mum had made in the eco pot this morning (it cooks itself through the day) then we sat around the fire playing charades.
Breakfast campfire to keep warm
Old Meekatharra mine view from lookout
Take care and stay warm !
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